Music and Entertainment

Norwegian heroes

Ole Bull (1810-1880) was a violinist and composer who is often referred to as the first Norwegian international star. Through his interest in Norwegian theatre, folk music and folk art, he played a central role in Norwegian culture following 1814, when the union with Denmark was dissolved and Norway got its own constitution. After few years of studying in Paris, he got his big break in Bologna in 1834. He became a hero in Norway and when he undertook his first voyage to America in 1843, he was received with even greater enthusiasm than in Europe. Bull is said to have composed over 70 works, but only about 10 are known today.

Aircraft: LN-NOC

Erik Bye (1926-2004) was a Norwegian broadcaster, author, poet and actor. He worked as a journalist for the Associated Press in Oslo and for BBC's Norwegian branch in London. He later started working for Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). Bye won a large audience with his entertaining television shows and news reports from Norway and abroad. He had the gift of being equally comfortable with the King of Norway as with a random person he met on the street. Bye was well known for his support of Norwegian sailors. He also spent much time helping the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue and their cause; as a result one of their rescue vessels is named after him.

Kirsten Flagstad (1895–1962) was one of the greatest singers of her time and become one of Norway's most famous women internationally. She was born in Hamar and grew up in Oslo where she made her debut as an opera singer at the National Theatre in 1913. In the period leading to 1934, she sang major roles in the Nordic region's opera stages and in Bayreuth, Germany. She had her international breakthrough at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1935. Her interpretations of operatic literature's female characters – not least in Wagner's music – made a deep impression, saved the Metropolitan Opera's economy and gave her lasting fame. Her recordings are legendary. In 1958, Flagstad was appointed the first director of the Norwegian Opera.

Aircraft: LN-DYT

Wenche Foss (1917–2011), was a leading Norwegian actress of stage, screen and television. She made her stage debut in 1935 as Ingrid in the operetta “Taterblod”. She was subsequently part of the ensemble at the Carl Johan Theater from 1936 to 1939, and then became a central figure in Centralteatret. She later worked at the National Theatre and Oslo New Theatre from 1952 to 1978. In 1953, Foss gave birth to a child with Down’s Syndrome, who died at a young age. She is credited with raising public awareness about disabled individuals. She survived breast cancer in 1971 and wrote a candid account of her experience. Foss died of anemia and bone marrow failure in March 2011.

Aircraft: LN-NGI

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) is regarded as Norway's greatest composer during the Romantic period. When he was 15 years old, Grieg began studying at the conservatory in Leipzig. He has received great acclaim abroad and has spent a lot of time travelling to cities like Berlin, London, Paris and Prague. Like many other artists of his time, Grieg's influence was significant when it came to cultural nation-building in the time leading up to the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905. His most famous work is the Piano Concerto, the Holberg Suite and the incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt.

Aircraft: LN-NOB

Geirr Tveitt (1908-1981) was one of Norway's most distinctive, colourful and well-educated composers. He lived most of his life at the family farm with a spectacular view high above Hardanger Fjord. Here he was inspired to write piano concertos, ballets, operas and impressive works for choirs, orchestras and singers. He had a rare work-capacity. He also won the hearts of the whole nation with his radio programmes on folk music on Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). Many Norwegians may remember Tveitt most fondly for his tune to Aslaug Laastad Lygre's poem "We should not sleep away the summer night".

Aircraft: LN-NGB

Swedish heroes

Greta Garbo (1905-1990) was a Swedish film actress who became an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. She was famous for her charisma, classic beauty and mystique as she shunned publicity. Garbo studied drama in Stockholm, where she was discovered by star director Maurits Stiller. He landed her a contract with Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) in the U.S. She immediately stirred interest with her first silent film, "Torrent", released in 1926. A year later, her performance in "Flesh and the Devil", her third movie, made her an international star. Garbo was nominated for an Oscar four times and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Aircraft: LN-NOM

Jenny Lind (1820-1887) was a Swedish opera singer, known as the "Swedish Nightingale". Already as a 10-year-old she began to sing Vaudeville, and at the age of 18, she had her opera debut. Lind studied in Paris for a while and had commitments both there and in Germany. She was in great demand in opera roles throughout Sweden and northern Europe. After two acclaimed seasons in London, she announced her retirement from opera at the age of 29. In 1850, Lind went to America and gave 93 large-scale concerts and then continued to tour under her own management. With her new husband, Otto Goldschmidt, she returned to Europe in 1852 and settled in England in 1855.

Aircraft: LN-DYG

Christina Nilsson (1843-1921) was a Swedish soprano with a golden voice and marvellous stage charisma. She was born in the southern part of Sweden as the youngest of seven children. Very early, Christina showed a talent for singing and in 1860, her studies took her to Paris where she made her debute as Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata”, a tremendous success followed by her next demanding role, “the Queen of Night” in Mozart’s “The magic Flute”. Now her name became known all over the world. In 1880, she began her first American tour, which was a big success. In 1883 she sang “Marguerite” in Gounod’s “Faust” at Metropolitan in New York. In 1873 she conquered the Russian capital of St. Petersburg and also gave a special performance in Moscow where the Tsar and his wife gave her jewels and the people honoured Christina as the uncrowned queen of song.

Aircraft: LN-NID

Povel Ramel (1922-2007) was a Swedish musician, composer, author, cabaret artist and actor. In Sweden he is best known for "Our own Blue Hawaii", a song performed by Swedish artist Alice Babs and "Johansson's boogie-woogie-waltz" in the 1940s. His style was characterized by imaginative wit, both verbal and musical. He took inspiration from the US and UK’s crazy-style humour and created his own personal Swedish version with unusual combinations of lyrics and music, word play, pastiche and general unexpectedness. He wrote approximately 1700 songs, skits and monologues, and he is regarded as a legend and an institution in Swedish entertainment.

Aircraft: LN-NOR

Evert Taube (1890-1976) was a Swedish writer, singer, composer and painter. He became one of Scandinavia's most famous and beloved folk singers, although he would prefer to be regarded as a writer. Following a five-year stay in Argentina, he developed an interest in Latin American music and introduced Argentinian tango to Sweden in the 1920s. In addition to his famous songs, Taube also wrote the most hitting anti-fascist anti-war poem in the Swedish language; "Målaren och Maria Pia", about the Italian war in Abyssinia, as well as the anthem of the budding environmental movement in the 70s, "Änglamark". Taube's work has also been translated and recorded in English.

Aircraft: LN-NOV

Danish heroes

Asta Nielsen (1881–1972), was a Danish silent film actress. She was one of the most popular leading ladies of the 1910s and one of the first international movie stars. She starred in 74 films and 70 of these were made in Germany where she was known simply as “Die Asta”. Noted for her large dark eyes, mask-like face and boyish figure, Nielsen most often portrayed strong-willed passionate women trapped by tragic consequences. She is credited with transforming movie acting from overt theatricality to a more subtle naturalistic style. Nielsen founded her own film studio in Berlin during the 1920s, but returned to Denmark in 1937 after the rise of Nazism in Germany. In her later years, Nielsen became a collage artist and an author.

* Travelers top pick banner on Frontpage: based on lowest one way fare incl. taxes and charges. Available for travel: October 2015 - January 2016. Booking period: July 21 – August 10 2015.Restrictions and baggage fees may apply. Information correct as at July 21, 2015. Nonstop flights are: Oslo (OSL) from New York (JFK), Stockholm (ARN) from New York (JFK), Copenhagen (CPH) from New York (JFK), London (LGW) from New York (JFK). 1 stop flights are: Berlin (SXF), Rome (FCO), Nice (NCE), Madrid (MAD), Barcelona (BCN), and Bangkok (BKK). All flights are operated by Norwegian.

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